Jessica Klinkenberg
Northern News Services
Published Friday, August 24, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The surgery waiting room at Stanton Territorial Hospital has been temporarily closed to make room for staff office space.

"On the second floor of the surgery ward they've moved people into (the waiting room," said David Ramsay the MLA for Kam Lake.

He said he visits the hospital occasionally to meet with constituents in the hospital, and that other people from his riding had called him with their concerns.

"I believe they should be looking at moving administrative staff out of the office."

Donna Zaozirny is acting chief executive officer of Stanton Territorial Hospital and director of operations. She said that the move is temporary.

"It is true. We ran out of space in the medical centre," she said. "For a temporary basis we relocated four people."

The move was made so that new doctors would have some place in the medical centre to do some training and preparation, and in the mean time they are working on finding space.

"It takes us about four to five months to organize space. We're out of space and we're working with the Department (of Health and Social Services)."

She said that it will take time to find the proper location for new office spaces.

"That's what we're in the process of doing. It's just that we can't walk out of the (hospital) and say we use this (office space)."

One of Ramsay's thoughts was to look at a potential consolidated walk-in clinic. He said that the clinic would be on one floor and the offices could be on the second floor.

The surgery ward is still open at Stanton, and Zaozirny said that there were other places people could wait.

"We have another smaller waiting room. And some people like to wait in the patient's room. There is also the cafeteria," she said.

The staff members have been located in the waiting room for approximately two or three weeks she said.

"They're doing the best they can to run a hospital," added Ramsay.